Microfluidic magnetic droplet-based chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay for multiplex sepsis biomarker screening

Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by infection, requiring the joint detection of multiplex biomarkers for specific diagnosis. Here, we present a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay based on microfluidic magnetic droplets for multiplex sepsis biomarker screening. The droplet-based chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLIA) technology utilizes multicolor-encoded microspheres to distinguish biomarkers and mesoporous silica-loaded enzymes for signal amplification and catalytic fluorescent substrates. Additionally, digital immunoassays via Poisson distribution in the generated droplets provide a reliable quantitative strategy for detecting rare targets. This method achieves high sensitivity, low interference, and simultaneous detection with satisfactory specificity of various sepsis biomarkers, such as procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and C-reactive protein (CRP). These features demonstrate that the microfluidic droplet-based CLIA method has great potential for broader applications in multiplex biomolecule detection and early disease diagnosis.